He sighed, shaking his head. "I know, I know. I dinnae mean to snap. I always get tense when I have to run the pub meself."
Despite herself, Paisley glanced up at the staircase. There was no sign of Dominic, of course. It was nine o' clock at night, and if he wasn't down now, it seemed unlikely that he would come down at all.
"Does he often let you run the pub yourself?" she asked cautiously.
"Nay, nae often. Sometimes, though. He owns the place, after all, and there's lots of paperwork and such to be done. He sleeps up in that office of his, ye know."
"Doeshe?" Paisley said unconvincingly. "I didn't know."
Brodie, thankfully, was no more skilled at spotting a liar than Paisley was at lying. He sighed, resting his elbows on the counter. "He's the strangest man I've ever met."
Paisley wholeheartedly agreed. Before she could say anything, Brodie threw a thoughtful glance her way.
"Are ye sure ye are all right, lass? Ye seem a wee bit... distracted."
Well, yes,she thought to herself.I just kissed the man who pays both of our wages, shortly before he pushed me out of his room and told me never to come in again. One might call that a confusing overall message.
"I have a headache." she said aloud again. It seemed simpler than explaining the whole business.
Brodie pursed his lips, scanning the pub. It was busy, as usual, but already Paisley could tell it wouldn't fill up the way it had last night.
"It's a weeknight," Brodie said eventually. "It won't be as busy as yesterday. If ye don't feel well, ye can take yerself home, if ye like."
Paisley hesitated. Leaving early would, of course, mean that any hope of seeing Dominic would be lost. But then, he probably wasn't going to come down that evening.
He's avoiding me,she thought clearly, and the idea sank into her gut like a stone.
"Very well," she said, with forced brightness. "That's kind of you, Brodie. Thank you."
He gave a nod and a smile, already concentrating on his next task.
Paisley pulled on her shawl, then stepped out into the cool, rain-tinged night.
There was no Dominic to guide her along the darkened path towards the forest, and she shivered, ducking her head and walking more quickly.
She twisted around just before the treeline, eyeing the lit-upSinnerpub. She could see one window on the second-floor glowing, a candle placed in the windowpane. She couldn't see anything else, but it was likely that it was Dominic's window.
Shivering, Paisley purposefully turned herself around, and hurried into the darkness of the forest. Better get home. Dominic was avoiding her for tonight. Maybe tomorrow would be different.
The rain had set in definitively by the time Paisley got home. It was a light drizzle, but cold and constant, and soaked quickly through her thin shawl.
There were a group of drunken men in the foyer of the Crown Inn, and Paisley ducked her head as she went by, hoping to avoid attention.
She was in luck tonight, it seemed. The men didn't notice her, and she breathed out in relief, climbing the first set of stairs that led to her room.
Ava hadn't been inTheSinner, but that didn't mean that she was home. There were other pubs, other locales she might have gone. Suddenly, Paisley wanted nothing more than to be in her room, to sit quietly on her bed, and absorb the day's events.
Dominic hadkissedher.
He'd also pulled her tight to him and they'd lain on a bed together, but now probably wasn't the right time to think too hard about that. Paisley's head was spinning. She could think of nothing beyond Dominic's warm, firm body against hers, the scent of wet grass and whiskey that was so uniquelyDominicit made her dizzy.
She kept thinking the kiss over and over in her head, wondering what else she could have done, what it meant, and whether or not she was being a fool to think so hard about it.
He's probably kissed lots of girls,Paisley thought, the idea sending a pang through her. She didn'twantto think of Dominic kissing other women, although he almost certainly had.
Paisley wasn't a fool. She'd always known that the standards set in Polite Society were extremely one-sided. Ladies had to be chaste and demure, preferably as ignorant as possible to the ways of men and the dangers of the world. It was best to beartless, but not stupid.
Men weren't held to the same requirements. Oh, they had to behave a certain way in public – never contradicting a lady, never being seen to be in their cups by a lady, taking care not to be alone with a lady lest they be forced into marriage by an outraged Society.
